my Crafty Corner

Cards and other handicrafts made by Jean Straw

Friday 17 October 2014

Baby Blanket

A quick post tonight to show you this rather brightly coloured baby blanket that I have just finished making. I have done very little knitting or crochet work since I got into paper crafting, but a couple of years ago I  was inspired to take it up again  by my sister Kate's Knit for Africa project  the aim of which  is to make baby blankets and clothes and teddies for use in desperately poor areas in Kenya and Uganda. The first couple of blankets I made were knitted in squares and sewn or crocheted together, but last year  I learned about Tunisian crochet and decided to give it a go, and this is the third blanket I have made using this technique.It makes a nice firm fabric with no holes for the babies to catch their fingers in. The blankets are just one metre square as they are intended to wrap new born babies in, and the mothers also manage to tie them into slings to carry their babies in.
I use bright colours because they look nice and cheerful and they are
fun to make. Here is a close up to show the stitch effect, this is a basic
 tunisian crochet stitch worked on a 6mm tunisian crochet hook. The
 border is worked in dc with an ordinary hook, a 6mm for the first two
rounds to fit in with the main blanket stitches but when I started to do
the little  pattern bit I realised that it was going to look too bulky and a bit wavy so used a smaller hook for the rest of it.
Between making these little blankets I also knit baby cardigans and hats and sometimes a few teddies to use up odd ends of yarn. I might show you some of these next time I have some ready. I only knit when I am watching TV and as I don't do a lot of that my progress is quite slow. However I have a little cardigan half made and have started another blanket a ripple stitch crochet one this time.
Thanks for taking a look, I hope you enjoyed seeing something a bit different this time. Thank you also for your comments which are greatly appreciated. Jean





12 comments:

  1. This is really lovely Jean, and I love the bright colours you have used. I have never heard of Tunisian crochet though but I can see what you mean about the density of the stitches. I haven't done any knitting or crochet for ages ad there never seems to be the time, but seeing this beautiful piece of work inspires me to have a go. x

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  2. What a wonderful gift you've made with your hands! I love the bold colors and perfectly even squares, I've never heard of Tunesian, but it reminds me of the afghan stitch which is another dense stitch with no holes! Bless your heart for thinking of others with a gift like this!

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  3. What a lovely bright gift. I'd struggle with the layout I think, but you've made a fantastic job. I've recently been teaching Tunisian, which is sometimes called afghan, and you've inspired me to do more xxx

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  4. Hello Jean

    Just beautiful and stunning and your vibrant colours are perfect for a baby blanket. I've not tried Tunisian crochet. Yes please can we see more of your work.
    luvirene
    xxxx

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  5. WOW - what a lovely bright blanket Jean. I have heard of Tunisian crochet but don't know how to do it. Perhaps I should look it up!

    Hugs, Sarn xxx

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  6. Your blanket is lovely Jean. The colours came out really well in your photo. I like that edge too. I´m going to try to copy it as it looks quite straightforward, but I´ll come back to you if I get stuck. By the way, Kim ate my wooden tunisian crochet hook!! Kate x

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  7. A beautiful colourful blanket. Some little one will be cosy in this .
    Yvonne x

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  8. This is beautiful Jean. So kind of you to make these.
    Hugs
    xx

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  9. Such a gorgeous blanket Jean huggles Sue xx

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  10. Hi Jean,
    such a very lovely blanket, and the colours are so perfect to lift peoples spirits.
    My Dad God rest his soul, used to knit quite a lot for such charities.
    I too used to knit just squares and take them to my sister in law who passed them onto people that would put them together, and make up the blankets.
    I love the sound of this type of crocheting, and will look it up.
    Lots of crafty love. Jenny L.

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  11. What a bright & lovely warm blanket you've created for such a good cause. Some little person is going to feel so cuddly & safe when wrapped in this. Loved the colors and that particular stitch is a good one for this project...re: the fingers & toes getting caught in holes. It looks to be a nice, tight pattern. I don't knit (and barely crochet) so I'm not up on the stitches. This is lovely & TFS it. Hugs

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  12. Wonderful bright colours and I think perfect for Africa!
    I would look forward to seeing the smaller items you make too. I love to see knitting as i am rubbish at it myself, but very much appreciate the beauty of it!

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